Cotton-gin.



PATENTED OCT. 29, 1907; J. HODGKINSON.

COTTON GIN.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 29. 1907.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ENGLAND.

COTTON-GIN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 29, 1907.

Application filed June 29. 1907- Serial No. 381,439.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, Janus HonGKrNsoN. a subject of the King of GreatBritain. residing at Salford, Manchester, England, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Cotton-Girls, of which the following is aspecification.

My herein described invention relates to apparatus for removing hardsubstances from fiber with which such substances are mixed, andespecially to the removal of the seed vfrom the cotton fiber.

It consists essentially of a body having a somewhat elastic coveringforming a bed in which is embedded a series of pins or teeth, the outerends of which are practically flush with surface. under normalconditions. said body being combined with a blade and the body or bladebeing movable one in relation to the other. whereby one. (the body forexample) may move past and in contact with the other and whereby. also,when fiber. such as cotton is brought into contact with the body, itwill be drawn between body and blade, press back the yielding bed andexpose the ends of the teeth on the line of the knife, which exposedteeth catch and draw the fiber away from the seed or other material tobe excluded.

I have shown my invention in a form adapted to be used as a cotton ginand it is illustrated in the accom panying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the machine. Figs. 2 and 3 aredetail views.

In these drawings the body carrying the teeth indicated at A is shown inthe form ot a roller. or drum and as moving in relation to the blade. itis mounted on a shaft arranged to turn in ordinary bearings and may berotated b y any suitable means. Opposite the periphery of the drum andin line parallel with its axis, is set a blade B, the form shown notbeing material, but well suited to the purpose. The edge of the blade(which need not be sharp) is set against and is practically in lightcontact with the periphery of the drum so that when the tiber is drawnin between blade and drum it is pressed by the blade against the drum.The body of this drum may be made of wood, metal or any suitablematerial. But the surface has a yielding covering 2, such as thickleather, for example, the thickness and character of which will appearfrom the function to be described. in this bed which covers the drum,are set pins 3. equally distributed over the surface, as in rows andprojecting radially through the bed, so that their outer ends arepractically flush with the outer surface of the drum. As shown thesepins are made in staple form like tine of the ordinary card cloth andpreferably they pass through a backing of cloth set, beneath the leatherand hear at their cross bar part upon the drum. The body of these pinsor teeth is therefore embedded in an elastic yielding material. When,therefore, material i to be acted upon by the machine, is brought to thesurface of the drum moving in the direction of the arrow. the advancetibers are brought between the drum and the blade and, wedging between.press back the yielding bed, cause the pins to project beyond thesurface on the line or in the region of the blade, and on that line orregion catch the fiber in continuous succession and drag it onward. Thisprojection of the pins and their engagement with the fiber as teeth isonly instantaneous for any given pin or line of pins but is followed bysucceeding pins or lines of pins. and each pin or line of pins, onpassing the blade is again and instantly covered by the resilient returnof the bed to its normal contour. Therefore the body of fiber is by aslight projection and when under pressure, and moves under pressure withthe pin or pins engaging it at that; point so that the fiber is carriedand no tearing or rupture of the fiber can occur. The retimbedding orcovering of the pins by the return of the bed to its normal form. lea esthe fiber free to fall from the drum as soon as the fiber passes theblade. but revolving brushes such as shown at D may be used to brushfrom the drum any fiber adhering by reason of the natural tendency ofthe fiber to stick in small quantities to a surface. The blade is shownas inclined downward from the drum that the edge is directed toward themovement of the drum and the fiber is drawn over the edge of the blade,the seeds or other expelled matter drop outside and to any receptacle.Manifestly the forms of these parts may be changed but there must be ayielding surface and the pins embedded there practically flush with saidsurface and means placed against said surface, and one of the parts mustmove in relation to the other.

I have shown the blade set sloping down from the drum, but it may beturned upward and incline from the rear edge downward to the druminsteac.

The blade is formed of two pieces. A bar E projecting at the end bearsat these ends on stiff coiled springs 4: located at the ends and restingon the frame of the machine. It is held by screw bolts passing throughthe springs and threaded into the frame and with their heads bearing onthe bar in about a central longitudinal line of the bar. These press thebar upon the springs. Two other screw bolts nearer the outer edge of thebar pass through the bar and in similar arrangement and by means ofthese springs and bolts the edge of the blade may be adjusted to thebars and vibration lessened.

The blade edge 6 is preferably made separate and securely attached tothe bar, so that it maybe removed when worn.

In the operation of this apparatus the bolls or unginned cotton forwhich the apparatus is mainly deactcd upon in any part. only once. andis there caught signed, is brought to the drum above the blade by anysuitable apparatus, the drum moving in the direction of the arrow. Thelight fibers adhere to the drum and are carried down and drawn inbetween the drum and blade which being rigid crowds the body of fiberagainst the drum and this depresses the yielding bed or forces it backthus causing the ends of the pins or teeth to project above the surfaceof the material in which they are normally embedded. This projection isslight but sufficient in connection with the pinch on the fiber and themovement of the drum to carry the mass of fiber forward bodily, whilethe seed or foreign substance is excluded by the blade thus the seedrests or rolls on the blade while the fiber is gradually un wound anddrawn from it and the action is such that the seed is left comparativelyclear of fiber and falls out of the way.

I have shown in Fig. 1 suitable feed mechanism con sisting of atraveling belt '7 with detaching brush 8 and oscillating chute 9 havingmovement as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

A eleaning brush may be provided as shown at D. From this the fiberdrops upon an inclined chute down which it moves and passes to a pair ofrollers which receive and compress it into a sheet.

The moving parts above described are operated by any convenientmechanism of ordinary construction.

I claim:

1. A machine for separating fibers from solid sub stances intermixedtherewith, comprising a moving body having a yielding surface, andhaving pins or teeth em bedded therein with their ends practically flushwith the said yielding surface and a blade set against the surface ofsaid body, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for separating fibers from solid substances intermixedtherewith, such as seeds, a rotary drum having a covering of yieldingmaterial and pins or teeth embedded therein and with their endspractically flush with the exterior surface of said covering and a bladeset against the surface of said covering; substantially as described.

3. In a machine for separating fibers from solid substances intermixedtherewith. the combination of a moving body of yielding; materialcarrying pins or teeth with means for holding said fiber against themoving body, the material of said body yielding in respect to saidholding means and the pins or teeth, to leave the same slightlyprojecting as they, together with the fiber. pass said holding means,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

- JAMES HODGKINSON.

Witnesses I'IENRY E. COOPER,

C. S. MIDDLETON.

